Rebecca Nicholson (G2, 25 August) says people of all ages socialise together in her northern home town, and asks where the generational jumble is in big cities. Has she never watched Shameless? Still, I wouldn’t blame you for not wanting to take your mum into a pub like The Jockey. Can I recommend, to impress southerners, the Scottish island of Islay – home of the “Islay wave”? Complete strangers who pass you in vehicles wave. This cannot fail to impress. Also try other Scottish islands for their version – I can vouch for Mull, Mainland Orkney and Westray. For a future article you might want to plot the GPS coordinates of the place, just south of Sheffield, where people stop talking to strangers on buses.
Jonathan Hauxwell
Cross Hills, North Yorkshire
